Flying C-46 transport aircraft "Over the Hump" of the Himalayan Mountains, Dean Baird, a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army Air Corps, helped supply the war effort in China, Burma, and India. Now, more than 60 years later, you can still find him flying, instructing, and conducting check flights at the Fremont County Airport in Canon City, Colorado. At 87, Baird is a proud member of the national pilot group, United Flying Octogenarians (UFO), a 450-member club whose motto is "Over 80 and Still Flying."
Dean Baird (left) with Dick Seaman and Doug ConleyHis story was featured in
The Pueblo Chieftain in 2002. Here are some excerpts from the article:
The Hump was the nickname for the Santung mountain range of the Himalayas. Pilots had to fly over peaks that were 18,000 to 20,000 feet high as they transported fuel, ammunition, troops, and supplies during the war effort in China, Burma, and India. ...
Before each flight, Baird was issued a parachute and a .45 pistol. Luckily, he never used either. He flew over the Himalayas south of Mount Everest and returned by a different route, but always could see the world's highest peak unless the weather prohibited it, he said.
The commander of the Hump operations once issued a dictum: "Effective immediately, there will be no more weather over the Hump," which meant that pilots would fly no matter what.
"There was a lot of wind and thunderstorm activity," Baird recalled of the skies over the lofty mountain range. The weather presented as much danger as the Japanese who controlled the skies above Burma and attacked China frequently.
Yet Baird never had problems from the enemy or the airplane. ...
After the war, Baird returned home and a short time later married his sweetheart, Vena. Baird met Vena in 1942 in Pueblo where he was a flight instructor and Vena was a student. ... The couple were married 51 years before she died. ...
Baird continued his flying career and has flown, instructed, and done flight checks for more than half a century. He still flies, instructs and does check flights for pilots at Fremont County Airport.
"There is not an aircraft that lands at the Fremont County Airport that Dean doesn't know how to fly," said Robert Henderson, airport advisory board president. ...
Henderson views Baird as a hometown hero, although the humble Baird would be the last to label himself as such.
"There are few 'bird men' but he is truly a 'bird man,'" Henderson said of Baird.
